13 May 2021 9:57am
The South Australian community was shocked by the news that a 13-year-old Port Lincoln boy had been killed after a garbage truck picked up a bin which he and his two friends were sleeping in on Tuesday.
SA Best MP Connie Bonaros has called for an inquiry into the death as questions emerged about how the boys came to be inside the bin. Ms Bonaros introduced the motion to the Legislative Council on Wednesday, calling for an independent joint inquiry into the circumstances around the death “urgently”.
The young boy, Spencer Benbolt Junior, and his friends – aged 11 and 12 – were not homeless, according to the police. Ms Best would like an investigation to be undertaken by the Guardian for Children and Young People and the Commissioner for Aboriginal Children and Young People, and in particular, she wanted answers to questions as to why the boys were sleeping in the bin before the garbage truck arrived.
A South Australian watchlist tracking domestic violence abusers has swollen by 2,000 names in 17 months - with one man named by 14 different women.
The database lists the names of almost 6,300 men, who have been reported by alleged victims who have presented at domestic violence services across the state.
More than 1,700 of the alleged abusers have had multiple victims, while more than 1,800 are alleged to have been involved in multiple incidents.
The shocking figures come after three people were victims of horrific domestic violence murders in South Australia last week, including a nine-month-old baby girl.
Kobi Shepherdson died after her father Henry plunged the pair off the Whispering Wall dam walkway in the Barossa Valley in an apparent murder-suicide.
Shocking pictures show homes trashed as evictions rise qt.com.au - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from qt.com.au Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The death of Ann Marie Smith last year shocked the nation and sparked a number of investigations and taskforces at both state and federal levels. And yet there remains a persistent sense that systemic change could still be years away. This anniversary should be a wake-up call, especially to state parliamentarians around Australia, to the continuing plight of people living with disabilities.